Man swore at rail station staff and stole beef from supermarket

A man has appeared in court after stealing beef from a supermarket and swearing at rail station staff.

James Riley, 35, of no fixed address, appeared at Lynn’s Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to both of the offences.

Crown prosecutor Nicola Lamb told the court that the first incident happened on February 18, when Riley was found “heavily intoxicated” on a bench at Lynn’s rail station at around 6.30pm.

He was asked to leave by a member of staff unless he was waiting for a train.

Riley refused to go and began shouting and swearing, telling the staff member to “shut the f**k up”. It was not long before he was arrested for the offence.

At the later date of April 3, Riley was seen entering Lidl in Lynn, putting five joints of beef into a carrier bag without making any attempt to pay.

Staff recognised Riley and the police were called to arrest him.

The court was told Riley had a number of recent previous convictions.

In mitigation, Ruth Johnson said that the defendant had been progressing and completed over half of his unpaid work from a previous offence.

“His alcohol consumption has reduced, he now drinks three cans a day, previously it would be four to five times that amount,” said Ms Johnson.

She also explained that Riley was getting support from organisations.

“He’s trying to get permanent accommodation, that gives you a reason to why he was asleep at the train station,” said Ms Johnson.

Riley was fined £50 for both thefts along with a victim surcharge fee of £20.